Draft:Guild Gem Laboratories
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Submission declined on 21 July 2026 by ChrysGalley (talk). This draft appears to contain text generated by a large language model (such as ChatGPT). You cannot use LLMs to generate article content.
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Declined by ChrysGalley 8 days ago.Wikipedia articles must be written neutrally in a formal, impersonal, and dispassionate way. They should not read like a blog post, advertisement, or fan page. Rewrite the draft to remove:
Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. If you have a conflict of interest (e.g. you are the subject, an employee, or a relative) or are being paid to edit, you must disclose this to comply with Wikipedia's Terms of Use. | |
Comment: All sourcing is either primary or WP:ORGTRIV Sulfurboy (talk) 02:32, 22 July 2026 (UTC)
| Type | Private gemological laboratory and educational company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Gem testing, gemological education |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Charles Carmona |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong , Hong Kong S.A.R, China |
Area served | Asia, Americas |
Key people | Charles Carmona (founder);
Ruby Liu (President, GUILD Gem Laboratories); Andrew Lucas (President, GUILD Institute of Gemology) |
| Products | Gemstone identification and grading reports |
| Services | Coloured-gemstone testing; gemology courses; field-expedition programmes |
GUILD Gem Laboratory (GUILD) is a gemological testing and gemology-education company founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1980 by the gemologist Charles Carmona.[1][2] The company is now headquartered in Hong Kong and, as of 2026, operates coloured-gemstone testing laboratories in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, three cities in mainland China, Bangkok, and Beruwala, Sri Lanka. An affiliated education arm, referred to at different times as the GUILD Institute of Gemology, runs gemology courses and field-expedition programmes for trade professionals.
GUILD's laboratory work centres on ruby and sapphire, emerald, pearl, and jadeite jade. Company gemologists have presented on coloured-gemstone market trends at industry gatherings such as the International Colored Gemstone Association's biennial congress[3], and posted several research papers on Gems&Gemology[4] [5][6]from Gemological Institute of America
History
[edit]Founding
[edit]Charles Carmona, a Graduate Gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America and an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers, had spent the 1970s importing coloured gemstones from Asia and South America before founding Guild Laboratories in Los Angeles in 1980, initially as an appraisal business.[2] In 1998 Carmona published The Complete Handbook for Gemstone Weight Estimation, a reference guide for estimating the carat weight of mounted stones; the book remains in print and is stocked by gemmological training suppliers including Gem-A, the UK's Gemmological Association. Carmona has said his work as a consultant to the World Bank included helping set up gemstone-testing facilities in Madagascar and Tanzania.[2]
Expansion into Asia and Sri Lanka
[edit]GUILD opened its first laboratories in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2016, and a further laboratory in Bangkok in 2019. The field gemologist Andrew Lucas, who had previously managed the field gemology programme at the Gemological Institute of America, joined GUILD in 2018 and went on to lead its education arm.[7][8]
In 2024 GUILD opened a laboratory in Beruwala, Sri Lanka, reported by Daily Mirror to represent an investment of about US$1 million.[9] Ahead of the opening, the Chinafort Gem and Jewellery Trade Association told the newspaper that although Sri Lanka had qualified gemologists, local labs lacked equipment needed to issue certificates recognised internationally, a gap the new facility was intended to close.[9] The Beruwala laboratory has since been a sponsor of the Gem Sri Lanka trade exhibition.[10]
GUILD launched the Aurora Awards in 2022. For its second edition in 2023, the mining company Gemfields became platinum sponsor and co-host; Professional Jeweller reported that around 208 finalists were shortlisted from several thousand entries and that Gemfields chief executive Sean Gilbertson travelled to Shenzhen for the ceremony.[8] Gemfields renewed the sponsorship for the 2024 edition.[11] The 2025 edition was held in Zhuji with pearls as the featured category, and the 2026 edition, partnered with BELMONT Emeralds, added jade as a new category.
Organisation and services
[edit]GUILD operates a commercial testing arm, GUILD Gem Laboratories, alongside an education arm that has more recently marketed itself as GUILD Institute of Gemology, offering courses ranging from short certificate programmes to field-expedition trips for trade professionals. The company also publishes an in-house journal, Gemology Frontier, launched in 2020.
The laboratories issue identification, geographic-origin, treatment-detection and grading reports, with particular emphasis on ruby and sapphire, emerald, pearl and jadeite jade. Corundum reports commonly address geographic origin and heat treatment, using instrumentation such as FTIR, Raman spectroscopy and LA-ICP-MS. For jadeite jade, GUILD applies the trade's conventional A/B/C classification (natural, treated, or dyed and coated material), in addition to its own grading criteria covering texture, transparency, colour and workmanship. The company states that these opinions draw on a reference-sample archive built through staff visits to mining and trading regions including Myanmar, Colombia, Zambia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Guatemala, with samples logged by GPS coordinates at the point of collection.
Locations
[edit]As of 2026, GUILD operates laboratories in the following cities:
| City | Country / Region |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | United States |
| Hong Kong | China (S.A.R.) |
| Shenzhen | China |
| Guangzhou | China |
| Zhuji | China |
| Bangkok | Thailand |
| Beruwala | Sri Lanka |
The company also runs teaching-only classrooms in several other Chinese cities and offers drop-off testing at major trade fairs, including the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair and the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair.
References
[edit]- ^ "Charles I. Carmona". Pacific Council on International Policy. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ^ a b c "How Guild Labs Became a Gem Appraisal Powerhouse with Charles Carmona". Jewelry Journey Podcast. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ^ "InColor Spring/Summer 2026 - Issue 57". online.fliphtml5.com. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
- ^ Gao, Yujie; Sun, Xueying; Zhang, Ziyun; Tang, Ruobin (2024-07-03). "Cummingtonite Needles Encased by Quartz in a Rhodonite". Gems & Gemology. 60: 133–134.
- ^ "Dendritic Inclusions of Thorianite in Heated Blue Sapphire". Gems & Gemology. 55, No. 3 (Fall 2019).
- ^ "Extremely Rare Hellandite Inclusion Found in a Mogok Ruby". www.gia.edu. Archived from the original on 2026-02-16. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
- ^ "San Diego Chapter: GIA Field Gemology Update with Andy Lucas". Gemological Institute of America. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ^ a b Butler, Rebecca (19 October 2023). "International Aurora Awards winners announced for 2023". Professional Jeweller. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ^ a b "Guild Labs to setup first laboratory for SA in Beruwala". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ^ "Gem Sri Lanka 2026 Concludes Successfully: Platinum Sponsor GUILD Propels Industry Growth". The Manila Times. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ^ "Gemfields renews partnership with Guild to present Aurora Awards". Professional Jeweller. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
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